No word on how long northbound Inkster Road in Bloomfield will be closed after failed bank

Northbound Inkster Road between 14 Mile and Maple on the West Bloomfield/Bloomfield Township border is closed after erosion left part of the road exposed.(Photo: David Veselenak | hometownlife.com)Buy Photo

Motorists who travel northbound Inkster Road in Bloomfield Township will continue to need another route as road commission crews work to repair the road after a bank failed.

The Road Commission for Oakland County discovered late afternoon June 15 that a failed bank had occurred on the road just north of 14 Mile on the Bloomfield Township/West Bloomfield border. That closure has left northbound Inkster between 14 Mile and Maple closed, forcing traffic to find a detour.

Cindy Dingell, a spokeswoman for the RCOC, said crews are evaluating the damage and determining what types of repairs need to be done in the area.

"That bank is starting to erode on the side of the road. Everything drains to that side of the road," she said. "That probably contributed to the erosion of the road."

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The area where erosion took place along Inkster Road just north of 14 Mile. There's no estimate for when the road will reopen after crews discovered a failed bank earlier this month.(Photo: David Veselenak | hometownlife.com)

There's no timetable for when repairs would be complete, but the fix will take some time, Dingell said. That will be determined once crews can evaluate the condition of the road and begin repairs.

While northbound Inkster will remain closed, the southbound portion of the road remains open to traffic heading to the West Bloomfield/Farmington Hills border. Motorists traveling northbound can detour going west on 14 Mile to northbound Middlebelt before heading east on Maple.

In addition to the repair work, Dingell said Inkster between 14 Mile and Lone Pine is on the commission's preservation overlay list for this year and will see some improvements along certain rough patches along the road.

"It will be done this year," Dingell said. "We will not be doing that project until we get that bank issue stabilized."

Other area road work starting

The stretch of Inkster between 14 Mile and Maple isn't the only stretch of that road that's seeing work this summer.

Just a mile down the road, Inkster is completely closed between Northwestern Highway and 13 Mile. That work is expected to substantially wrap up by mid- to late August.

In addition, Consumers Energy has been granted a permit by the RCOC to close Middlebelt between 11 Mile and 12 Mile for utility work.

This closure is to allow the company to install a high-pressure gas main, work which began several days ago and is expected to wrap in mid-August.

Motorists are advised to take 11 Mile to Orchard Lake to 12 Mile before returning to Middlebelt as a detour.

In Wayne County, crews have begun work along Inkster between Six Mile and Seven Mile on the Livonia/Redford Township border. That project consists of reconstruction of the road, including hot mix asphalt cold milling and resurfacing, improving sidewalk ramps and signage and marking work.

One lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained during the project, which is scheduled to run until late September, according to the city of Livonia.

Contact David Veselenak at dveselenak@hometownlife.com or 734-678-6728. Follow him on Twitter @davidveselenak.